Grand nu assis, Alberto Giacometti
Alberto Giacometti
Grand nu assis
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Alberto Giacometti

Grand nu assis, 1957


Dimensions
154.0 x 59.0 cm
Physical Description
Oil on canvas
Inventory Number
SG 1261
Acquisition
Acquired in 1986 with support from Josef Buchmann, Gabriele Quandt and the State of Hesse
Status
Not on display

Texts

About the Work

Alberto Giacometti's 'Grand nu assis' eludes the viewer. In spite of her presence, this isolated figure seems strangely transparent, positioned as she is in the emptiness of a room that is only hinted at by the occasional line. Here, as in many of Giacometti's other works, it was his wife, Annette, who posed for him. And yet the individual recedes behind a universally valid image of humankind, inhabiting a diffuse space between being and nothingness. She remains in the ambivalence between distance and closeness, between presence and dematerialisation. The framing within the picture acts as an anchor. The imaginary, the illusory in art provides the space in which we can watch the figures as they continuously disappear.

Work Data

Basic Information

Title
Grand nu assis (Original Title)
Title Translation
Great Sitting Nude
Painter
Period Produced
School
Object Type
Physical Description
Oil on canvas
Material
Technique
Label at the Time of Manufacture
Datiert und signiert unten rechts: 1957 Alberto Giacometti.

Property and Acquisition

Institution
Departement
Collection
Creditline
Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main
Picture Copyright
© Succession Alberto Giacometti / ADAGP, Paris; Foto: U. Edelmann
Acquisition
Acquired in 1986 with support from Josef Buchmann, Gabriele Quandt and the State of Hesse

Work Content

Motifs and References

Iconclass

Primary
  • 61BB2(GIACOMETTI, Annette)11(+55) historical person (GIACOMETTI, Annette) - BB - woman - historical person (GIACOMETTI, Annette) portrayed alone (+ full length portrait)
  • 31AA235 sitting figure - AA - female human figure
Secondary
Associative
  • 59AA1 Loneliness; 'Solitudine' (Ripa)
  • 48B11 workshop, studio of the artist (in general)

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Last update

13.03.2024